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Immature grape embryos from early ripening genotypes of Vitis vinifera were successfully cultured in vitro on Difco orchid agar or a modified White's agar medium. Germination was increased in vitro for five genotypes from 0%, 7%, 11%, 12%, and 16% in vivo to 15%, 24%, 23%, 34%, and 24%, respectively. Subculturing embryos onto liquid culture from seeds that failed to germinate on agar also was possible. Differences in germination rates, as affected by pollen, were significant. This method will allow accelerated development of early ripening cultivars by allowing breeders to use such genotypes as females, as well as males.

The importance of rapid, nondestructive, and accurate measurements of leaf area (LA) in agronomic and physiological studies is well known, but a search of the literature revealed little information available for grape (Vitis vinifera L.). The results described herein include a comparison of 12 different mathematical models for estimating leaf area in `Cencibel'. The simplest, most accurate regression equations were: LA_i = 0.587 LW (R ² = 0.987) and LA_i = 0.588 LW (R ² = 0.994), where LA_i is leaf area measured using image analysis and LW is leaf length × maximum width. Use of maximum width (W), leaf length (L), petiole length (L_p), and dry weight of leaves (DML) as single variables in the regression equations were not as closely associated with total leaf area, although their R ² values were also highly significant.

Prohexadione-calcium (prohexadione-Ca) was evaluated for its ability to suppress vegetative growth of grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) under field conditions. Two or three applications of 250 mg·L^-1 prohexadione-Ca reduced primary shoot growth of `Cabernet Sauvignon', but had little effect on other canopy characteristics or cane pruning weights. The reduction of shoot growth was not persistent and shoot hedging was ultimately needed to avoid canopy shading. Similarly, three applications of either 125, 250, or 375 mg·L<sup>-1</sup> prohexadione-Ca reduced `Cabernet franc' shoot growth, but again did not eliminate the need for shoot hedging. Cane pruning weights of `Cabernet franc' were unaffected by treatment, and canopy characteristics were generally not improved. Two prebloom and one postbloom application of 250 mg·L<sup>-1</sup> prohexadione-Ca were evaluated on `Cabernet franc' and `Chardonnay' in separate field experiments. The prebloom treatments retarded shoot growth of `Chardonnay', but had no effects on `Cabernet franc' shoot characteristics. To retard shoot growth, prohexadione-Ca had to be applied prior to bloom; however, prebloom applications had the potential for severe reductions in crop yield.